Magic and Mayhem: How To Date A Dragon (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Baba Yaga Saga Book 2) (3 page)

Damien lifted a brow. “When something happens worthy of intervention, then I will get involved. You have my word.”

She sighed, frowned, and then nodded. “Very well. I will insist you keep your word in the matter when the boy oversteps.”

Damien smiled. It was a rare case where she conceded so easily. “You’ve been giving Hildy too much attention. Aren’t you concerned about the Elven lad who keeps putting unwanted moves on Carol?”

Jezibaba laughed. When Carol met her gaze across the room, she nodded once. The girl’s eyes lit with her intentions. The elf reached behind her and ran a hand over her ass stopping to pat. Two seconds later, he was on the floor, magically gagged and bound with ropes.

She turned to face Damien when he sighed at the kids now laughing at Iren who was helplessly constrained on the floor.

“No. I’m not worried about Carol at all,” she said flatly. Her gaze went back to where Thane was playing with the fabric Hildy had glued to her hair clips. “Hildy can handle boys all day long, but handling a man—that’s another matter. And you and I both know handling a dragon is a damn art form.”

Damien chuckled. “Yes, I do know. Want to make some art with me later?”

“Are you flirting to distract me, Professor Smoke?”

“I’m honored bound to try, Jezibaba. You’re belittling my kind,” Damien declared, grinning at her eye roll. “Thane is only a couple years older than Hildy emotionally. He’s just passing time pleasantly. It is the way of most males to flirt with females they find appealing.”

Jezibaba nodded. “That’s precisely why I never lingered with one long enough to let shit like this become a distraction.”

Damien chuckled low. “What would happen if I were to flirt with another female to pass the time while you’re busy worrying about the girls?”

Jezibaba turned her most brilliant, yet evil smile her lover’s way. “You’d become the first fire-breathing toad in existence. I’d put you into a terrarium until I required your stud services.”

Damien snorted, glad when no nervous smoke appeared. “You mean that, don’t you?”

“Yes. Want me to prove it? I haven’t done a single mean thing in months. It would be refreshing to unleash this pent-up frustration on something amusing.”

His booming laughter had all eyes turning to them. Dancers stopped, gawked, and then hesitantly went back to what they were doing. Some chaperones he and the Jezibaba were. Now everyone had one eye on them, waiting to see if the Jezibaba was going to explode into violent action.

The woman he adored was smiling at the attention. She knew they feared her and he knew there was no one else in the world who could command the attention of any crowd like she could.

“It is times like this that remind me my higher purpose in your life is to be your keeper. I know you’ve forbidden me to discuss our mating until the Baba Yaga witches come into their full magic, but nevertheless, my mother wants to meet you in your natural form. After eight years of us
dating
, I think it’s time we allowed her to get to know the Jezibaba a little, don’t you?”

Her sigh was long. “I suppose. She met me as Elenora the Dragoness. Wasn’t that enough?”

“No. My mother wishes to understand what is keeping me at your side and in human form when our family is free of our debt to the goddess. She’s deeply unhappy that I refuse to return to my cave and live as dragons do.”

Jezibaba shrugged as she met her lover’s gaze. “No one’s stopping you from going home. Why do you stay? I would come to you no matter where you are. We could remain lovers even if you did go back to your… cave.”

Damien reached out and stroked her lovely face. “I stay because I love you. That is all the reason I need. I will remain at your side and help you protect your replacements. When you are freed of the burden of your pact with the goddess, then and only then, we will both be free.”

Jezibaba hung her head. “Your loyalty still surprises me, Damien. Perhaps it even makes me weak. I find myself making decisions just to be sure what we have between us never changes.”

“My loyalty has been yours all along. I am your mate, Elenora. We just haven’t made it official.”

“So you keep saying.” His mouth sweeping over hers lifted most of the clouds. Damien Smoke did seem to love her. But that love had not really been tested.

Life was long and hard. No matter how magically powerful she was, the future was still beyond her ability to see or control. Not even her close ties to Morgana had ever changed that reality. One day she feared her dragon would change his mind and fly away. And if he did so, she would let him. But for now… she leaned until she could kiss him back.

“I really do love you, Damien.”

“A fact I thank your goddess for every day,” he said.

His fingers linking tightly with hers was the only appropriate way in that moment to celebrate their bond. A few hours from now? She knew their love for each other would bring forth a magic stronger than anything she’d ever created alone.

“You didn’t have to walk me back to the dorm,” Hildy protested. “Carol and I usually walk together. I would have waited for her to finish lecturing the elf who got too handsy with her.”

The chuckle of the sexy dragon shifter at her side made her tingle in some interesting places. She’d tingled before, but nothing like the kind of tingles Thane inspired. Dragons seemed to ooze passion. Most shifters did, but with dragons it was always present and very noticeable.

“I have observed your friend. Carol is very…
intense
,” Thane proclaimed, happy to have found the right word. “And it is my pleasure to see you safely returned to your residence. I do not wish our time together to end yet.”

“Keep me safe? I’m a powerful Baba Yaga witch,” Hildy said, honesty pouring out. “I’m supposed to be the one protecting
you
.”

Thane laughed and shook his head. “Dragons do not need any witch’s protection. That’s merely a myth our elders perpetrate to keep from angering Morgana The Red. I find it regretful that your future position is based on that myth continuing.”

“What did you say?”
Hildy tilted her head and looked at the handsome man at her side. Maybe she hadn’t heard him right. “Do you doubt my capabilities?” She frowned when Thane ducked his head.

“Forgive me, Hildy. I am not maligning your magical talent… or denigrating your witch calling. I’m sure you’ll achieve the highest rank of your kind one day. Dragons aspire to such things as well.”

Hildy suddenly saw with clarity what she hadn’t been willing to see all evening. Thane’s arrogant opinions made her squirm and not in the good way. “There were dragon females and many other species present tonight at the dance. Why did you spend all your time with me?”

“You fascinate me on several levels, Hildy. You have a healing gift all shifters can appreciate. I believe that is your true calling.”

Hildy firmed her mouth and looked away. She remained silent, no longer comfortable with the conversation. She was pleased Thane had noticed her most prized gift, but what did everyone else think? She was supposed to be celebrating her dedication to being a lifelong witch. It was the first step on the road to becoming who she was meant to be.

“Your distress is larger than you are,” Thane declared. He laughed as he looked down into her confused gaze. “What’s the matter, Hildy? I can tell you don’t want to be one of the Baba Yaga.”

Hildy rounded without blinking. “It wouldn’t matter if I did want something else. I am a Baba Yaga witch. Carol and I will both finish our training and take over the Jezibaba’s job. It is our destiny.”

Thane snorted. “Ah yes… the Jezibaba… the irreverent Great One. Sometimes I find myself wondering what is so great about her. Damien swears she is to be his mate, but I do not see what he sees.”

Hildy glared at him. “How can you say that? It’s obvious they’re meant to be together.”

Thane laughed again. “You are passionate about things you know little about. Do you think the Jezibaba really wants to be bound to an academic dragon with outdated ideas of the world? That flashy witch wants attention more than she wants justice. From everything I’ve seen, the female is not wise enough to be so powerful. There are others much more suited for her position.”

Hildy lifted her chin. “No there aren’t. Jezibaba serves the Goddess Morgana, as will Carol and I. Maybe narrow-minded dragons like you should just leave important decisions to your wiser hoard leaders.”

Thane’s laughter over her defense of her calling made her angry. Her hands itched to reduce him to something green she could put into a box.

“Maybe you might make it as a Baba Yaga witch after all, Hildy. There is a fierceness hiding behind all those childish pink frills. Don’t worry though. The contrast between your appearance and that hidden stream of viciousness is quite alluring to me.”

“That does it. First you insult my training. Now you’ve insulted my fashion sense. Thanks for walking me home—
Not
. Have a nice life, dragon boy.” Hildy turned to march away, but suddenly felt her arm being yanked.

More laughter met her ears as she was turned and hauled into Thane’s arms. He hugged her as if they were a long time couple having a brief quarrel.

“I’m sorry. Truly. I don’t like you being this angry at me. I have no finesse with females. My uncle Damien is supposed to be teaching me how to relate to them better. I’m not afraid of your magic or of you, little witch. It’s just that understanding the limits of your power probably makes me braver than I should be.
And it harm none… right
? Isn’t that your creed?”

Hildy wiggled, a little alarmed to find she was held firm. “Harm is relative to the situation… and I know your game now, Thane. Guys who look like you don’t think they need to be respectful or polite. I’m sure you’ll eventually find someone willing to put up with your snide remarks and chest-thumping crap, but that will never be me. Now let me go before I get really mad.”

“I think I’d enjoy seeing that. What will you do if I don’t let you go?” Thane asked in a sexy whisper. “I know you find me more appealing than those shifter boys who can’t even form a cohesive sentence around you.”

Hildy narrowed her gaze. “No—actually I don’t. You’re an asswipe in academic clothing. Plenty of guys have gotten handsy with me over the years, bub. Carol’s not the only one who can protect herself. Now I’m warning you for the last time…
let me go
.”

His snicker preceded his mouth bending to hers. The first touch was like someone striking a match. A thousand flames lit inside her and the heat went everywhere. It figured a dragon would pack that kind of sensual punch. Why was it always the jerks who kissed so well?

Thane pulled away to meet her angrier gaze. “Now we kiss again and make up, yes? We easily became friends earlier. I know you feel the chemistry between us. You and I were obviously meant to be lovers, not enemies.”

“Apologies shouldn’t come with sarcastic chuckles, Flamey-O. I’m not going to be fooled any longer by your good looks or that smarmy charm of yours.”

His low laughter had her renewing her struggles. The easy way he resisted her efforts to free herself sent her into the first panic she’d felt around him. Hildy decided she hated feeling fearful most of all.

“I look forward to being taught such niceness at the hands of a genuine Baba Yaga initiate. Do your worst to me, witch. Then we will kiss again and you will tell me how wonderful it is to be in my arms.”

Hildy stopped and stared into his beautiful laughing eyes. The truth hit her as hard as any lesson the Jezibaba had ever administered. It wasn’t the dragon restraining her that bothered her. She could magically transport herself away. In general, she liked shifters and their strength. Yes, she did find that part of him sexy. What irked her was the way Thane’s sexy, kissable mouth was turned up in a smirk simply because he’d didn’t respect her power.

She hated that—
really
hated that. Then suddenly she hated him too. A kind of magic she’d never felt before lit up all her nerve endings. Behind that was the temper she normally kept in check. “Okay. That does it. I’ve had enough of this.”

Thane was strong, but it turned out he hadn’t been prepared for a genuine fight. She whispered thanks to the Goddess for the Amazon who trained her.

Putting real intention behind her power, Hildy twisted loose from his hold, spun in the dragon’s arms, and ended her escape with a round-house kick to the side of his head before springing away to land on her feet.

The force of her kick knocked the young, arrogant dragon backwards just enough. She smiled with great satisfaction as she raised her hands over her head.

“Goddess Morgana, hear my plea,

Make this dragon a creature of the sea,

Make him weak and dependent on me,

As I will, so mote it be.”

When nothing happened, Thane snorted. He looked down at himself and back up at Hildy. “Next time try constructing your little poem in iambic pentameter. It might work better then.”

Hildy felt her back straighten as the magic surged and gathered into her hands. She got it now. She got why the Jezibaba was the way she was. Three hundred years of such disrespect would drive any witch crazy.

“I wasn’t finished yet, sulfur breath.”

Hildy flung her hands in Thane’s direction and seconds later a six inch floppy fish with green dragon scales lay on the ground where the handsome dragon had stood.

She grinned widely as she bent, scooped him up, and put him into her skirt. If Carol always felt like this when she won a battle, no wonder her friend liked fighting. Her pleasure over having handled the dragon on her own was large enough to fill the entire courtyard outside the dorm.

She was proud of herself for not giving in to the panic Thane’s disrespect had caused her. It was good to find that she hadn’t been completely scarred from being zapped by a dragon when she was ten.

“Okay. Let’s see if spending the night in the toilet bowl improves your manners, dragon boy. Don’t worry though. I’ll put a
No Flushing
sign on the lid so Carol won’t accidently send you down the sewage pipe… not that losing one future arrogant asshole of a dragon would be a great loss to the world. Be grateful I’m not filing assault charges with the council or telling Damien what you did.”